Friends make sure beloved comedian Bill Bauer gets final bow

When veteran comedian "Wild" Bill Bauer died of heart failure in his sleep in August, the local comedy scene was shocked. The 62-year-old comic had been touring regularly, booking acts and serving as a mentor to up-and-coming comedians.

After attending Bauer's memorial service, his friend and business partner Craig Allen was inspired to set up one final show for Bauer, a founding member of the Twin Cities comedy scene.

"He didn't get a chance to do a farewell kind of thing," said Allen, who books comedy shows at the New Hope Cinema Grill, something he used to do with Bauer. "There's not a lot of places we could pull off the show we're going to do except for the room he helped get off the ground comedy-wise."

The plan for "Final Bow" is to project a 50-minute set of Bauer's -- using video shot during the past year -- on the Cinema Grill's 30-foot screen. Footage from Bauer's television appearances also will be shown.

"It's a chance for people to see him in a 'live' setting one final time," said Allen, who noted that proceeds from the show are going to Bauer's family. "People will see a full-length show of one of the Twin Cities' comedy legends. He was a great storyteller, a great presence onstage -- twisted yet down to earth. He had a relatable sense of humor that was all over the board."

"All of these people spent countless hours with Bill, driving to some horrible gig in the middle of South Dakota," Allen said. "But they had fun doing so many shows with him. It's a chance to almost be able to do a show with him one last time."

Patrick Bauer, 34, says he's not sure what kind of reaction he'll have to the show, but it sets his mind at ease that everyone involved in "Final Bow" were his dad's friends.

"I think it will be a good night," Patrick said. "It'll probably be a bit emotionally jarring, but I think it will be cathartic, as well."

When asked what he thought Bauer would say about his farewell show, Allen laughed.

"Well, he'd want to know what his cut was," he joked. "It would be 100 percent."